ASFO Spotlight: Young Mommies PART ONE!!!!!

Balancing work and school is no easy feat, and I know that the last thing I want to do sometimes, when I don't get enough sleep is take the extra effort to look cute. Fashion and style can sometimes go out the window when you're on a busy schedule and the busiest people in the world, in my opinion, are new moms. Babies, drain you, and are very exhausting to take care of. When my nephew was born, I was over at my sister's house every day helping out, mainly because Theodore is the center of my world, but also because her husband just couldn't get a lot of time from work off and I knew she needed the extra set of hands. So how do busy new mom's stay cute and stylish? Let's ask them and see how they do getting dressed in the morning......

Kiley, 22My name is Kiley and I will be 23 in a month! (However, I do feel like I’m turning 43, but what’s age anyway?) At this stage in my life, my primary focus is my son, and I’m fortunate enough to be a full-time stay-at-home mommy to the happiest 2-year-old I’ve ever met. Although I do not have a “9 to 5” job right now, my day is filled with teaching, exploring, learning, singing, playing, reciting, cleaning, and running around town like a mad woman. Downtime is scarce, but when I get a free minute – nerd alert – I do enjoy scrap-booking and mystery novels (or the occasional Real Housewives episode). I majored in psychology at Hanover College in Indiana but have since relocated to Indianapolis. My goal is to be a clinical psychologist… one day. I’m engaged to my best friend Danny, whom I met at Hanover

So tell us a little bit about your son?Lucas is an energetic and happy 2-year-old who loves to munch on grapes, strawberries, bananas, and of course – pizza (he got the obsession from his dad). He loves Alvin and the Chipmunks books and movies, and he has a slight obsession with Halloween pumpkins. He likes counting backwards from 10 with the microwave, saying ABC’s and singing Barney songs.

What is your go-to outfit for a busy day with your Lucas? Three essentials for fall/winter – A chunky sweater, skinny jeans, and flats. I try to stay with basic colors like black, blue, grey, tan, etc. so I can wear the different pieces multiple times a season

Any quick tips for new moms to stay stylish?Wear what’s comfortable. Don’t try too hard to nail every trend in one outfit. I’m a big fan of leggings/jeggings because you have the choice to dress them up with fun boots or be comfy with a pair of Sperry’s/flats

Are there any clothing/accessory choices that you've started avoiding with your son?Jewelry is tricky. I stay away from necklaces right now and go with scarves instead. Lucas shows interest in necklaces so I avoid them altogether. He also loves watches, but I like mine too much to not wear them. Sacrifices. So tell us a little bit about your outfit choice...Top: I love 3-quarter length shirts and sweaters (from Macy’s). The pink tee is a scoop-neck J. Crew top. Bottom: I have an obsession with purple/maroon colored pants, and I got mine from H&M for less than $20 - so those will be worn frequently this fall! Shoes: Sperry’s with leopard print haha, adds a little attitude I guessJewelry: Tan rhinestone studded watchNOW LET'S ASK ANOTHER MOMMY! LET'S SEE HOW SHE DOES FASHION........

Molly, 22My name is Molly and I am 22 years old. I stay at home with my daughter during the day and go to college on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. I also work 1 to 3 nights a week and I just applied to volunteer at a shelter once a week. My main hobby is hanging out with my family, but the one thing I do only for myself is take a dance/fitness class once a week & workout every day :) My daughter is also a part of a big playgroup and that gives me time to socialize with other women that I can relate to.

So tell us a little bit about your daughter?My daughter’s name is Isabella Noelle and she is two years old (27 months). She is very wild and is currently obsessed with dancing to "I Like to Move it, Move it" from the Madagascar 3 soundtrack. Then she goes on to sing "Afro circus, Afro circus. I like to move it!!" All day long haha. She just learned how to sing the whole alphabet too- although she likes to add her own words at the very end.

What is your go-to outfit for a busy day with your child?My main concern while choosing an outfit for a day of running errands is making sure that it's comfortable, yet feminine. I'm a jeans and a t-shirt girl all the way, but I like to add a nice pair of boots and earrings to give the outfit some life. It's also important that I can wear an outfit from playgroup, the store, school, and back home without feeling like I'm over or under-dressed. To be perfectly honest, I don't really have any fashion sense. In an ideal world I'd have someone do my shopping for me :)Any quick tips for new moms to stay stylish? Don’t forget to take care of yourself! If you were really into fashion and beauty before baby, make it a priority after baby as well. It’s important for moms to have a good self-image; we are teaching our children how to be confident! Also, don't be afraid to take fashion risks. Just because you're a mom doesn't mean you have to dress any certain way. That goes both ways: if your child has been up all night crying, don't be ashamed to rock some pajamas in Wal-Mart- you will NOT be the only one. We feel enough pressure in other areas of life; fashion should be fun and enjoyable, not stress-inducing. Are there any clothing choices/accessory choices that you've started avoiding with Bella?I try to avoid necklaces because Bella has broken a couple of those already. Also, I have to be careful about low-cut tops because she likes to pull on my shirt and stick her hands on my chest sometimes lol. Other than that, not much has changed. So tell us a little bit about your outfit choice?In the photo I am wearing skinny jeans, comfortable boots, and a fun top that I found at Kohl's. For accessories I have on a simple pair of gold earrings and a gold ring. I normally don't wear skinny jeans because they simply don't flatter my athletic/curvy build, but they are the easiest to tuck into boots. I wear boots like the ones in the photo for running around with Bella because I can wear them all day without them bothering my feet. When I go out to dinner with her dad I prefer to wear boots with a small heel.

I like the top because it has a low back line and the added sparkle on the sleeves. You can't tell in the picture, but the jeans are embellished on the backside and the boots have sparkle on the backs of them as well! What can I say? I like shiny things :)

.......and what girl doesn't like shiny things? Am I right ladies?Make sure to check back in a couple days for Part 2 where we ask some more mommies how they approach fashion and style on a busy schedule.

I hope any new moms can learn from these girls, or even just those of us on a very tight schedule. I don't have any children of my own at the moment and I've got to give these ladies a round of applause because I know how difficult babies and toddlers are to take care of. I have a nephew who is almost 2 and he is the center of my world but jeez, is he exhausting....... Here is us together when he was 9ish months old (below). For the record, Yes....I bought him matching chuck taylors JUST so we could get photos done together.